Every sport has its records, whether it be football clubs winning by huge margins, golfers winning the most Majors or tennis players doing the Grand Slam.
If there is a sport out there, then there will be a record to be set. In some sports, the records are broken so often as to make them almost irrelevant, whilst in others, the records can stand the test of time and remain in place for a long period.
In the world of athletics, records can seem to come and go any time there is an Olympics or a World Athletics Championship, which is what makes the ones that have stood the test of time all the more noteworthy.
Jarmila Kratochvílová’s 800 Metres Triumph
When it comes to world records, boasting the most impressive one in any trackside event of any kind is a pretty impressive accomplishment. Jarmila Kratochvílová was a Czechoslovakian athlete competing at the World Athletics Championships on the 26th of July 1983 when she achieved something truly remarkable. Kratochvílová was taking part in the 800 metres when she ran it in a time of 1:53.28, setting a world record. It is a record that remains in place today, with only two female runners, Pamela Jelimo of Kenya and Caster Semenya of South Africa, even coming close.
It is the longest-standing, unshared record in a track event in either the men’s or women’s discipline. Perhaps even more remarkable than the accomplishment in and of itself is the fact that she also broke the women’s 400-metre record later in the same meeting, running it in 47.99 seconds. That was broken a couple of years later by her great rival, Marita Koch, but to smash two world records in the same track meet is an impressive thing to do. As you might imagine, Kratochvílová faced unsubstantiated accusations of doping, in spite of the lack of evidence.
Marita Koch’s 400-Metre Win
The battle that took place between Jarmila Kratochvílová and Marita Koch in the 1980s was one for the ages. As mentioned, it was Koch who broke Kratochvílová’s 400-metre record, posting a time that remains the world record even now. Born in East Germany, Koch was a fast runner from a young age and managed to beat even older boys in sprint races at school. She began training with Wolfgang Meier as a teenager, being coached by him for her entire career and later marrying him. Although she has held world records in numerous disciplines, it is her 400-metre one that stands out.
MARITA KOCH.
400 m world record (Women). #Olympics2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/JwtywSGOQF— Anil Joshi (@aniljoshi1978) July 10, 2024
It was at the Canberra World Cup in 1985 that Koch broke the record that Kratochvílová had set two years earlier, running the event in 47.60 seconds. One of the things that is even more remarkable about her success is the fact that she was drawn to run in lane two, which is not a lane that the fast runners tend to prefer. It made no difference to Koch, however, as the runner got out of the blocks quickly and left her competitors behind. In fact, she was so far ahead of the rest of the pack that only one other runner was caught on camera as she crossed the finish line.
Mike Powell Long Jump Record
When it comes to records, there are two that most people consider to be the most important: the Olympic record and the world record. On the 18th of October 1968, Bob Beamon lined up in front of the long jump at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City and prepared to take on the event. What he didn’t know is that he was about to set an Olympic record that would be almost impossible to beat, jumping 8.90 metres. Carl Lewis came close to beating it at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, jumping a distance of 8.72 metres, but as far as the Olympics are concerned, the record belongs to Beamon.
The long jump world record is held by Mike Powell, who jumped 8.95 meters in 1991.
#FactOfTheDay #RandomFact
— Useless Encyclopedia 📖 (@trivia42.bsky.social) Jan 27, 2025 at 20:00
Remarkably, Beamon does not hold the world record. Instead, that honour goes to Mike Powell, an American athlete, who outjumped him at the Athletics World Championship in Tokyo in 1991. Powell lined up on the athletics track in the Japanese city and jumped 8.95 metres, which obviously won him the gold in that event and set a world record in the event that remains unbeaten. What makes the achievement arguably even more impressive is that it was actually Powell’s fifth attempt, proving that you can overcome the tiredness in such an event.
Marjorie Gestring & Dimitrios Loundras Winning When Young
Modern Olympic Games viewers will no doubt remember the name of Sky Brown, who was 13 years and 28 days old when she won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Remarkably, Sky isn’t the youngest ever medalist, however. Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras was born on the fourth of September 1885, taking part in the Olympics in Athens in 1896. He won a bronze medal in a team event on the ninth of April that year, at which point he was just ten years and 218 days old. That makes him the youngest medalist of either gender, which remains a record all these years later.
25.5% got it right. USA’s Marjorie Gestring (left) won gold in the springboard diving event at the 1936 Olympic Games and became the youngest ever Olympic champion at 13 years and 268 days! 👏 pic.twitter.com/TpvAXbXkBV
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) May 25, 2021
There have been numerous medalists who have competed in the Olympics over the years, but arguably the most outstanding of these was Marjorie Gestring. Gestring was 13 years and 268 days old when she competed in the 3-metre springboard diving event at the 1936 Summer Olympics, winning gold. That made her the youngest ever gold medalist in an individual event, which is what makes it such an impressive accomplishment; unlike others, she had no team mates to depend upon or turn to, needing to bear the responsibility of the dive on her own.
Jonathan Edwards’ Triple Jump World Record
On the 30th anniversary of his world record triple jump, Jonathan Edwards bemoaned the fact that it is not a good sign for athletics that the record has yet to be broken. Edwards was taking part in the World Championships in Gothenburg on the seventh of August 1995 when he posted a distance of 18.29 metres in the event. That is a record that remains in place more than three decades later, with only three other men in the history of athletics having even managed to get past the 18 metre mark. That helps you understand just how impressive his jump actually was.
Yet for Edwards, there is sadness that accompanies the record. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said, “When you think of all the developments in sports science, nutrition, training methods, all of those things, I don’t think it necessarily speaks to a really healthy and thriving sport, if I’m honest…I don’t think it’s a good sign for athletics as a sport that you have a record that stands for 30 years.” The fact that there are numerous records even older than Edwards’ impressive triple jump achievement might well make him even sadder thinking about the Olympics and athletics in general, of course.
